Parenting Power

It's school holidays again! For some parents this is a delightful time to stop and enjoy their children and for others it is a mad struggle to entertain kids while dealing with the pressures of working. I think it's a wonderful time to acknowledge the huge work that parenting is and the impact that it has on your life.  Twenty-one years of parenting has been the most incredible personal development training that I have ever been on!

Here are 10 tips that might help....

1. Do what’s right, not what’s easy.

It’s very tempting to give in and go with the easier option. Long term this is not a good plan! But give yourself three ‘get out of jail’ cards each month that you can use to override the rules.

2. Move on. 

Deal with stuff that happens and then start the next day anew.

Kids do dumb things, so do adults. Don’t hold grudges. Deal with stuff and start each day fresh.

3. Have a weekly plan on the fridge so everyone knows where everyone is. 

Each Sunday I write up the plan for the following week: who’s going where, who is taking them, what is needed. Get all the information out of your head and onto a piece of paper and display it where everyone can take responsibility for it. Or you could have a weekly meeting to let everyone know what is going on and when. 

Start young and get children used to being briefed about the week’s events. Tell them in advance if you have a huge week at work or if you are going to be away. Kids cope best when they are fully informed. Parents who lie and sneak out will lose their children’s trust.

4. Plan meals the day before, and always have something cooked and ready go in the freezer.

Getting home at 6 p.m. with no dinner plans is not ideal. When my children were little, whatever we ate, they ate the next night. I would cook dinner and plate up little servings for the following night. That way the kids’ dinner was only ever five minutes away.

5. Make an effort to greet your children every morning and when you get home at the end of the day. 

Mornings and evenings are great times to check in and reconnect. Taking time to snuggle in the mornings and evenings is vital, too. Record you reading their favourite books on an iPad so they can have ‘mummy time’ if you are working late or away.

6. Teach them to be interested in other people. 

Children are very self-absorbed and need to be taught to show an interest in others people’s days and interests. I love hearing my kids asking each other about their days!

7. Give them some insight. 

Parents who let their children behave like idiots do them no favours. I bought my teenage son a poster for his room that says ‘Don’t Be A Dick’. Just a friendly reminder! When your kid is being a dick, tell them. Otherwise they will end up with no sense of social reality.

Learning to handle themselves is part of growing up, and teaching them how to handle situations is part of your parenting job. I see children who cannot handle losing a game or are constantly jealous of others — they need to get over it. Someone will always be better than you and have something that you think that you want. As a parent, if you don’t use these ‘teachable’ moments to help your child grow then you are doing them a disservice.

8. Educate them about food. 

In order to grow up as healthy humans they need to understand good nutrition. Explain what nutrients do for your body and what foods have which nutrients.

We used to play a game of ‘how many colours did you eat?’ at dinner. We each had to list all the different-coloured foods we had eaten during the day — it opened a lot of discussion about the benefits of different foods.

Make sure that your kids can cook. High-protein snacks like scrambled eggs are a far better option than large bags of chippies after school.

9. Tell them what you love about your job. 

Don’t whinge to them about your life. Kids don’t need lectures about how hard ‘adulting’ is. By living a happy, fulfilled life you will inspire them to do the same.

10. Find a good, non-judgemental friend who you can unload on and share your triumphs and disasters with. 

Parenting is tough and you need support.Happy school holidays

Lisa

xx

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